When Paul McCartney’s original bass guitar went missing in 1972, the former Beatle could not “Let it Be.”
The wayward guitar has finally returned to McCartney after 51 years, according to the Associated Press.
In 2018, the Lost Bass Project was started to help McCartney find the missing guitar, NBC News reported.
The campaign “attracted worldwide attention from Beatles fans and volunteers who claimed to know something about where the bass was,” according to NBC.
The campaign announced that its wish came to fruition.
“We are extremely proud that we played a major part in finding the Lost Bass. It has been a dream since 2018 that it could be done,” the campaign announced on its website. “Despite many telling us that it was lost forever or destroyed, we persisted until it was back where it belonged.”
McCartney paid about $30 for the violin-shaped, hollow-bodied Höfner 500/1 guitar in Hamburg, Germany, in 1961.
This was before the Beatles became famous two years later.
“He ordered a custom-made left-handed version from the German manufacturer and liked its lightweight feel and symmetrical look,” according to “Tune In,” the account of the Beatles’ early years by cultural historian Mark Lewisohn.
McCartney had just replaced Stuart Sutcliffe in the group.
“McCartney was unsure how long the guitar would last — a previous guitar broke and was smashed to pieces on stage. More than 50 years later, the Höfner is in need of minor repairs but otherwise in fine condition,” the Lost Bass Project said.
McCartney confirmed he now has the guitar, which was used in live shows and albums before it was stolen.
“Following the launch of last year’s Lost Bass project, Paul’s 1961 Höfner 500/1 bass guitar, which was stolen in 1972, has been returned. The guitar has been authenticated by Höfner and Paul is incredibly grateful to all those involved,” McCartney’s website posted, according to NBC.
The bass was considered lost or destroyed after it was stolen from a van.
“The guitar was found in the possession of a family in Hastings, southern England, still with its original case. Ruaidhri Guest wrote on X: ‘To my friends and family, I inherited this item which has been returned to Paul McCartney’”, NBC reported.”
NBC reported, “Beatles memorabilia is big business. A Gibson acoustic guitar, on which John Lennon wrote songs such as ‘I Want To Hold Your Hand,’ went missing during a show in 1963 but resurfaced in 2015 and was sold at auction for $2.4 million.”